Just a simply question maybe someone can help me out. Im having trouble starting my car, the starter just clicks but its a brand new starter. I tested the voltage on the battery and it reads approxiamately 9.9 volts and its about 60 degrees here. The car would not start. Do you think 9.9 v is enough to start the engine? Thanks for the help.

 

anyone?

 

My battery sits at 12.0-12.2 volts. Sounds like your battery is a little low. High current/amps is what you really need to turn over a car.

 

sounds like new battery time

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fe519 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you think 9.9 v is enough to start the engine? </TD></TR></TABLE>
No

 

Pretty much your battery is dead. You might be able to charge it to full again, but I doubt. I say get a new battery.

 

12.6 is good under that is cutting it close. volts Learned that from the DIY channel!

 

If your engine has been running and charging this battery recently, or if you've had a charger on it recently, and its only 10 volts, then its dead. Get a new battery.

If its been sitting a while in the cold, it may only need a charge. I would check the fuild levels (if maintenance type), charge it up with a battery charger, then take it out of the car and over to NAPA or Pep Boys and have them test it with a load. You can buy one of these load tester's yourself. It just checks the voltage under a resistive load. If the voltage drops too much under load, the battery is used up. Get a new one.

To answer your question, normally a charged vehicle battery at rest (not being charged) should have a voltage at least 12.5 volts. When starting your car, the voltage should not drop below 12 volts or so. Sometimes a battery will still start a vehicle with only 11 volts. Not 10 volts. Someone mentioned the amperage requirements, and yes, this is important, but I'm assuming your battery is the correct size for your car.

Batteries typically last 3 to 5 yrs. The range is influenced by the quality of the battery, its care and maintenance (maintenace free is best), and how badly it is used. Drawing it down to zero by leaving the lights on and then recharging is called "deep cycling" and is not particularly good for a battery. While automatove batteries sustain this abuse better than most types, it still will reduce the service life.

When you replace the battery, make sure you replace it with a battery correctly sized for your car. In my experience, Honda batteries work best and last the longest.

 

good write up john

the amp size of the battery(which have NOTHING to do with the actual size) is called group size.

deep discharge and vibration kill the lead grid in the battery, most of the people thinks the batter tie down stripe is useless, it actually extend the life of the battery

12.6 is the max volt, consider there's 6 cell in one battery, each producing 2.1 volts.

unless your car is dead on the roadside, never bring your battery to get recharge at autozone,etc

the proper way to charge a deep discharged battery take 20 hours.

 

Time for you to get a new batt.
I recommend a optima red top unless you have alot of electrical devices, then get a yellow top.